Commentary

CNN's Jon Klein is missing the point

Commentary: Why CNN is an underachieving network

JonFriedman

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- CNN executive Jon Klein says his cable network is in a "category of one" in the television industry -- and he is right.

But not quite for the reason that he thinks.

Klein made the observation earlier this week. He stressed proudly that CNN, a unit of Time Warner
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delivers non-biased news. Further, he asserted that CNN would continue to execute its strategy despite what an Associated Press piece referred to as a "ratings freefall." Read AP story about Klein's remarks.

There are two ways to assess Klein's stance. First, you can admire him as a man of principle, damn it, and nod approvingly that he won't be corrupted by the public's obsession with television ratings.

"We will never abandon our core faith in having nonpartisan reporting," Klein, officially the president of CNN U.S., said. That's a good thing -- CNN should never lose these ideals.

At the same time, is Klein insisting that CNN answers to a higher ethical power? If so, I'm not buying it. There is a way to present the news in a non-partisan, yet engaging and compelling way. CNN's biggest problem is that it is often perceived as being a dull network -- and that should change.

Call me overly cynical, but I can't help but wonder whether Klein has actually given up on catching up to the Fox News Channel, which has held a sizable lead for years. You'd almost think Klein believes that any attempt at giving CNN an injection of pizzazz would compromise its integrity. (Both Fox News and MarketWatch are part of News Corp.
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)

I wish Klein could find a way to make CNN more interesting and lively -- no, make that more enjoyable -- to watch.

In the TV news world, success is measured by the ability to be popular and journalistically excellent at the same time. Look at the accomplishments of NBC News, a unit of General Electric
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NBC, somehow, dominates its demanding, multiple time slots at "Today," "Nightly News" and Meet the Press" (which is aired on Sunday mornings).

ABC
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and CBS
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try like hell to dislodge NBC in the ratings -- and all three do an excellent job. Yet NBC leads the pack most of the time.

Steve Capus, who runs NBC News, told me in an interview a few months ago that CNN's decline could be traced to a decade ago to when its rivals "outhustled" it. Read Media Web column about Steve Capus.

Talking the talk

I think Klein can have his principles and also find a way to make CNN relevant.

In addition to its ratings slide, CNN is teetering on the verge of losing its impact in terms of such hard-to-pin-down aspects as impact and buzz.

CNN over the years has certainly done its share of covering stories about car chases, burning buildings and missing white women. Yes, Klein has curtailed the amount of air time for such sensationalist fare. But I somehow doubt -- and I haven't done a scientific study -- that CNN is perfect. Just check some of Larry King's subjects and guests.

Anderson Cooper, who has become the face and voice of CNN, said he was never more proud of working for CNN as he was at the time of the Haitian earthquake disaster.

As the AP's David Bauder noted, Cooper said: "It was the best of CNN, and it showed the primary example of what CNN does better than anyone else. A lot of people talk about the news. But somebody needs to report the news, and we do that every day."

To hear Klein and Cooper speak, you might suspect that CNN was on a higher moral plane than its foes -- not merely duking it out for viewers. It's as if CNN actually believes that talking about the news is somehow beneath the Time Warner unit -- even though Headline News, another of Time Warner's holdings, sure does a lot of talking about news stories.

Further, Cooper is justifiably proud of CNN's coverage of Haiti -- but didn't every news organization distinguish itself when the pressure was on? I noted that Fox News' Bill Hemmer (himself a refugee of CNN) did well on the ground during the tense story. Read Media Web column about Fox News' Bill Hemmer.

The truth is, I could have just as easily highlighted the performance of a reporter on MSNBC, CBS, ABC or, yes, CNN. Happily, everyone raised the level of his or her game covering that awful story.

CNN has a staff comprised of proud, hard-working, talented journalists. And Klein himself is a serious, dedicated news executive. I have admired the network's professionalism for a long time. The employees deserve to have a better shot at Fox and MSNBC. CNN should devise a strategy that encourages journalistic excellence and an interesting presentation.

CNN believes that critics harp way too much on its primetime woes. Less than 10% of its worldwide revenue results from primetime in the U.S., the AP reported. CNN CEO Jim Walton provoked guffaws at the meeting when he said he felt compelled to thank the media "for all the great coverage we've had for the last few months."

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